Oct. 30--It's so much easier for perennials to get their roots firmly ensconced in a new home if they make their move in autumn instead of spring or early summer.

That's my excuse for going plant shopping Saturday at Texas Discovery Gardens in Fair Park.

From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. nectar and host plants for butterflies will be for sale. I bought a few trees, vines and perennials at TDG's summer sale, in terrible heat. The specimens that didn't get dug up by the bad city chickens and the hordes of squirrels -- recently designated my newest sworn enemy -- survived the summer and will be ready for the butterflies. If they come, unlike this year's disappointing dearth.

The perennials I've targeted on TDG's sale list not only are good for butterflies, several also are hard to find in retail nurseries.

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) is a fragrant native that I've seen growing wild in East Texas lake country. TDG classifies it as a shrub. However, there is a specimen on the grounds there, outside the fence, that stands more than 10 feet tall and as many feet wide. It has been pruned into a tree, and I'm going to try for a similar result. It's a shame this buttonbush specimen is in such a remote location at Fair Park. In full bloom, it would stop traffic.

Mexican honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera) is hardy in USDA zones 9 and 10. Depending on how hard our winter is, it may come back from the root if it dies back. Its tubular orange flowers attract hummingbirds, too.

Brazilian buttonflower (Centratherum intermedium) is classified as a tropical. But I had a plant that returned from the root for several years. Another germinated from a windblown seed that lodged itself in a crack in the concrete driveway. I bought a plant at TDG's summer sale, but I found it last weekend uprooted and near death, pulled out of the ground by squirrels looking for nuts. It blooms until a hard freeze.

Gulf Coast penstemon (Penstemon tenuis) is another native that is easy to grow. Its flower spikes bloom for weeks in spring, and each blossom makes many tiny specks of seed. The penstemon will reseed itself if the ground around it is not disturbed, or you can save seeds to sow later. I'm seeing a few new plants in my front garden that will bloom next year, but I'll buy more Saturday. It needs little to no care.

Zexmenia (Zexmenia hispida), a Texas native, blooms all summer until frost. I planted one 4-inch pot two years ago and nearly killed it from neglect its first season. Now it is a 4-foot cloud of small yellow flowers that the bees work constantly. Drought and heat do not faze it, once established.

I'm also considering velvet honeysuckle (Dicliptera suberecta) and Texas betony (Stachys coccinea), which appeal to butterflies and hummingbirds and are heavy bloomers.Sale details

From 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Texas Discovery Gardens will host a Texas trees plant walk that focuses on native trees in the garden, their characteristics and care. Admission is $3 adults, $2.50 age 60 and older, $1.50 children 3-11. There is no admission fee to the plant sale from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Look for signs that will direct you to the parking lot and sale entrance at the back of the TDG complex. For a sale list, go to www.texasdiscoverygardens.org and look for the link to the list.

-----

To see more of The Dallas Morning News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dallasnews.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, The Dallas Morning News

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.